New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lynn Lujan Grisham’s “emergency” order banning the carrying of firearms in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County is a violation of the natural rights of the people, and likely a violation of the state constitution as well. (more…)
Read moreThe Incorporation Doctrine Broke the Constitutional System
I think centralizing power is always a net loss for liberty. So did the founding generation. This is why the framers of the Constitution emphatically rejected a proposal to give the federal government veto-power over state laws. It’s also why the first Congress rejected applying some provisions of the Bill of Rights to the states...
Read moreThe Constitution Isn’t Meant to Protect Your Liberty
One of the biggest misconceptions I hear about the Constitution is that it was written to “protect our liberty.” It wasn’t. At least not in a direct sense. (more…)
Read moreThe People, the Militia and the Second Amendment
With the gun control debate back on the front-burner, a 2016 MarketWatch article asserting that. "The Second Amendment doesn't give you the right to own a gun" is making the rounds across social media. The article perpetuates a fundamental misunderstanding of the Bill of Rights and demonstrates the danger of basing your constitutional expertise on..
Read moreThe Death of the Limited Government Republicans: Thoughts from Maharrey Head 137
"10 Minutes Closer to Freedom" The limited government Republicans have gone the way of the anti-war left. They can't be bothered with the Constitution because they are in control now. There are walls to build and liberty to impose. On this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head, I talk about it. LISTEN Thoughts from Maharrey..
Read moreConstitution 101: The Supremacy Clause and the Bill of Rights
Many Americans believe the Bill of Rights apply to state and local governments. Most who hold this position rely on the 14th Amendment and the "incorporation doctrine" to support their position. But some proponents of using federal power to restrict state and local actions through the Bill of Rights use tortured legal reasoning to argue..
Read moreThoughts from Maharrey Head #81: Getting Rights Wrong
"10 Minutes Closer to Freedom" In this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head, I talk about rights, privileges and immigrants. Earlier in the week, I wrote a post titled Yes. Non-Citizens Have Rights. It created the proverbial poop-storm. The comments and emails made it clear that a lot of Americans don't understand rights. They think..
Read moreTurning the Bill of Rights into a Billy Club
America celebrated Bill of Rights Day earlier this week. But perhaps we should have declared it a day of mourning. After all, federal supremacists have turned the Bill of Rights into just another government centralizing document. On Dec. 15, 1791, Virginia became the 11th state to ratify the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, crossing..
Read moreConstitution 101: The Ninth Amendment
Generally, Americans treat the Ninth Amendment like the Bill of Rights’ unwanted stepchild. They mostly ignore it, and when they do talk about it, they often misunderstand it. In reality, the Ninth Amendment serves a very simply but crucial purpose. It expands the limits on the federal government – at least in a manner of..
Read moreThoughts from Maharrey Head #40: The Liberty Enforcement Squad
"10 Minutes Closer to Freedom" In this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head, I explain the original application of the Bill of Rights, why it matters and why the liberty centralizers are wrong. A lot of people who say they believe in "limited government" turn around and favor the federal government "enforcing" liberty on the..
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